Caribbean Compass Yachting Magazine - August 2018

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OUR SEABOARD BIRDS BY BELA BROWN AUGUST 2018 CARIBBEAN COMPASS PAGE 30 THE SPOTTED SANDPIPER Tiny quivers of movement pulsate along the sand as a crystalline weeet weeet weeet stirs the still, late afternoon air; an alarmed Spotted Sandpiper (Actitis macularius) hastens away on arched wings, flying low over the waves, using rapid wingbeats alternating with stiff-winged glides. After circling the water’s edge, it lands farther along the bow-shaped beach to resume its all-consuming beachcombing task. The bird is elegantly dressed in its breeding plumage of spotted pearly-white undersides, its yellow legs and dusky-brown mantle catching the soft glow of the setting sun. As I crouch down by the water’s edge, I marvel at its captivating teetering gait — with tail bobbing up and down — which has earned the species an array of nicknames such as teeter-tail, teeter-peep, teeterbob, teeter-snipe and tip-tail. Although the purpose for the teetering is still a mystery to ornithologists, it changes depending on the bird’s disposition: increasing in speed when the bird is agitated and ceasing completely when stalking prey or during territorial and courtship displays. Curiously, the chicks begin teetering as soon as they hatch from the eggs. One of the most common sandpipers in the Caribbean, the Spotted Sandpiper is mostly seen alone or in pairs — usually dressed in its non-breeding plumage of pure-white belly, breast and neck and darkish bill — foraging along sandy beaches, or probing the mud for small crustaceans and insect larvae in mangrove swamps, marshlands and salt ponds. Breeding migration is from May to August and contrary to most sandpipers, which breed in the Arctic and subarctic, the Spotted Sandpiper migrates to more temperate breeding grounds in North America, extending from the Arctic tree line to the southern part of the United States and favouring inland freshwater shorelines with semi-open spaces for nesting and patches of dense vegetation for nesting protection. Its extensive breeding grounds reveal that this species is highly adaptable to a variety of habitats and can be found at sea level or in alpine regions at altitudes above 2,100 metres — the only requisite being the existence of a shoreline for foraging, drinking, courting and bathing. Indeed, it is not by chance that the Spotted Sandpiper and its sister species, the Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos), are placed within the genus Actitis — a name derived from the ancient Greek word aktitis, meaning “coastal dweller”. At the end of the breeding season some individuals remain in northern coastal zones, but most return to wintering grounds in the southern US, South and Central America as far south as Argentina, the Galapagos islands, and the Caribbean. The Spotted Sandpiper migrates in small groups or singly, as opposed to the large flocks typical of other sandpiper species. The Spotted Sandpiper is most unusual among shorebirds — it practices a role-reversal mating system in which females are not only larger (weighing 43 to 50 grams compared to 34 to 41 grams for males) and have bolder ventral spots, but are also socially assertive over the males. Contrary to most avian species, the female Spotted Sandpiper is the first to arrive at breeding grounds, establish territory and perform aggressive courtship displays to attract a mate. Additionally, she practices resource defence polyandry — defending desirable territories with important geographical resources — which in turn attracts potential mates. In fact, she assesses the desirability of a breeding site by the number of males present at a time. A female can mate with as many as four males and lay up to a maximum of five clutches with four eggs each in a single season, abandoning each mate as new males arrive at the nesting grounds. Initially there’s intense competition for mates among females owing to male scarcity, however, as females fight and new males arrive, the sex ratio becomes more even. But not for long. As males commit to incubation duties they are removed from the mating pool, while females are once again free. Thus by the second half of the breeding season available females can outnumber available males by seven to one. With no more males available, a female will help her last mate with incubation and brooding. So, with Spotted Sandpipers, it is the number of males rather than food resources that determine their reproductive successes. Unsuccessful breeders may not return the following year. In fact, this species is known as a “pioneering species”, emigrating as a result of breeding failure to colonize new territory. Males are known to have higher levels than females of the hormone prolactin, which is known to promote parental care in birds and though the female may provide some help, it is really the male that does most of the incubating, tending the nest and raising the chicks, who may sometimes be fathered by a male from a previous mating, as the female can store sperm for up to one month. The nest is a depression in the sand lined with grass, usually placed in the shade and within 100 metres of water. Incubation takes 19 to 24 days, taking longer at the onset of the breeding season and progressively less time as the summer wanes. The tiny down-covered chicks leave the nest within one day of hatching, run around, teeter, stretch their tiny wings and seek warmth and protection under the wings of their fiercely protective father. If a predator threatens the brood, the father may display aggression by standing upright with opened bill facing forward, breast feathers puffed out, and wings stretched outward and forward. Both the male and female are known to feign injury in order to lure danger away from their offspring — behaviour known as the broken wing display. They crawl along screeching, with wings flapping on the ground and tail spread out. First flight or fledgling occurs at 17 to 21 days of age. Immature birds congregate in large groups, resemble the adults in non-breeding plumage and are almost impossible to tell apart from the adults. Spotted Sandpipers start breeding at one year old, but have a short lifespan, with males living on average 2.8 years and females about 3.7 years. Yet, individuals can live as long as nine years and the oldest known individual was a 12-year-old banded male re-caught and released in New York. But back at Grenada’s La Sagesse beach the sun is near setting and the little sandpiper, a word meaning “bird that chirps in the sand” — whom I believe to be a male and one of a handful of Spotted Sandpipers that winters in the area — runs in one-metre-long bursts alternating with short stops, to peck at prey in the luscious carpet of brown seaweed. Now and then he looks in my direction and I take the opportunity to ‘The bird is elegantly dressed in its breeding plumage of spotted pearly-white undersides, its yellow legs and dusky-brown mantle catching the soft glow of the setting sun’ press the camera’s shutter, click, click. He’s slightly irked by the sound, but gets back to feeding as something much more significant is at hand; it is mid-April and an ancient song is calling louder than ever before — soon, maybe even tonight, he will embark on his most important life task, taking to the sky with short fluttering wings, moving northward, ever northward across water, mountains and valleys to the breeding grounds where he will finally fulfill the sole purpose of his being: to find a mate, and nurture and protect the next generation of Spotted Sandpipers.
LOOK OUT FOR… Skin-ups, Ginnips, Genips… Just Variations on a Theme As you travel through the Caribbean, every month there’s something special to look out for. Melicoccus bijugatus is known by many names around the world, but in the Caribbean it is generally known by some form of variation on “ginnip,” which will be used for the rest of this article. Well, except for St. Lucia and parts of Barbados, where they are referred to as ackee, not to be confused with the saltfish-and-ackee type of ackee. The “meli” is in reference to honey, while “coccus” refers to seed, an apt description of the fruit for sure! Ginnip is known for the little green fruit that are found on the slow-growing tree. They can often be found for sale, in the English islands, by enterprising young people looking to make a dollar or two for school supplies, or for their KFC fix. Fifty cents EC can net you a small bag of them. While generally less commonly found for sale in the French islands, sometimes you can find a tree that is willing to give you a free snack. The fruit tend to be small, ranging about two centimetres to a “giant” three-centimetre-sized roundish fruit that finishes in a bit of a point. The fruit are bright green, and are usually found clumped together when bought, and definitely clumped together at the end of a branch on the tree, with ten to 20 of these balls of honey hanging together in a cluster. The skin is a little leathery, but can be broken easily with the teeth to reveal the light salmon-pinkish pulp inside. It is somewhat similar to the pulp of a grape. Remove the skin, pop the whole thing into your mouth and work the pulp off of the stone (sometimes two stones). The pulp has a slightly acidic nature, and can be quite sweet. Pro tip: don’t drink a beer right after eating them; it is most definitely NOT a good combination. The trees can grow to a height of up to 35 metres, with a trunk diameter of close to two metres. The smooth grey bark may have striping, and the trunk can become a little gnarled with age. The generally oval-shaped leaves are dark green and glossy. The small flowers are aromatic and popular with bees and other insects. The trees prefer the drier parts of the islands, and may be more prolific in secondary-growth areas, and where there is lots of sunshine and moderate amounts of rain. It can handle a bit of cooler conditions, so may be found as far north as Florida. This native of South America (called quenepa in Spanish) has been spread around the tropical world. With the trees being prolific bearers of fruit, and the seeds taking to the soil very easily, this was not a difficult thing to accomplish. In some areas, the trees are considered invasive. Humans, not surprisingly, are one of the biggest spreaders of the seeds. However, they are also planted intentionally for the fruit, as a shade tree, and for bees to make honey. The ginnip tree is found widely around the Caribbean Basin, probably spread initially by the indigenous peoples. Street vendors sell genips by the bag, or with several stems like this one lashed together to form a ‘tie’ or bunch. You can ask for a sample to make sure they’re sweet! AUGUST 2018 CARIBBEAN COMPASS PAGE 31 OPEN NOW! YOUR STORE FOR FRESH MEAT & PRODUCE CARRIACOU ALEXIS food stores Tyrrel Bay, Harvey Vale Tel: 1 (473) 443-7994 Fax: 1 (473) 443-7995 Mobile: 1 (473) 417-7995 info@alexisfoodstores.com
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Caribbean Compass Yachting Magazine - August 2018

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